Bonhams 2016 Las Vegas line-up

November 2015

Vincent Black Prince | Indian Crocker | Bally's
 

The date will be 7th January 2016. That's when Bonhams will be holding its 8th Annual Las Vegas Sale at Bally's Hotel & Casino in the brightest city on earth (as viewed from space, and not necessarily anything to do with local intellectual prowess—no disrespect intended to the good citizens of Las Vegas).

We've been sent some teaser images intended to make us all reach for our wallets. But around here, we're just poor boys and girls. However, we know that some of you Sumpsters have a bob or two stashed in boxes under your beds, so check out these very desirable mo'sickles and see what tickles your carburettor.

▲ 1955 Vincent Black Prince. When you're in the presence of this kind of nobility, you're supposed to take off your hat/lid. Phil Vincent miscalculated royally with this bike and it was a poor seller. Bonhams, however, reckon they can flog it easily enough. The estimate is $90,000 - $110,000 (£59,000 - £72,000).

UPDATE: The bike sold for $164,500 £113,342

▲ The tank is steel, but the bodywork is fibreglass (or fiber glass if you're on the far side of the pond). Fibreglass sounds mucho cheapo now. But it was cutting-edge in the 1950s, and no one was embarrassed to use it.

▲ The view from the helm. These bikes were built for all-weather touring. More lately, most of their mileage happens between auction sales (in the back of a truck). Phil Irving and Phil Vincent would, we suspect, be disappointed. Nevertheless, in this world you've gotta keep moving the dosh around or the economy collapses.

Moving on, the bike immediately above is a 1926 Indian Daytona Factory Hillclimber. The frame number is 4. The engine number is M353. Bonhams estimates that $100,000 - $120,000 (£65,000 - £78,000) will change hands for this rare machine.

We don't have too many hills in our immediately neighbourhood. But if we did, something like this would do nicely for those sudden shopping trips.

UPDATE: The Indian Hillclimber didn't sell.

Finally, we're looking closely at this bright yellow 45-cubic inch 1929 Indian Crocker. What makes it interesting is (a) the immediate Albert Crocker connection, and (b) the fact that it's a recreation rather than an original bike. That's our understanding of it, anyway (Bonhams has so far supplied almost no details, so we're patching this news item together from scraps).

Albert Crocker was a mid-west "Indian man" who later founded his own firm in Los Angeles, USA and built some of the world's most devastatingly beautiful OHV V-twins. The motorcycle immediately above is one of six (also quoted as seven) sidevalve Indian Scout 101s fitted with an Albert Crocker OHV top-end kit. It was created by renowned Florida-based bike builder Gwen Banquer as a faithful homage/replica.

Albert Crocker, we understand, supplied his first OHV kits with cast iron barrels and heads, and then (for all the obvious reasons) switched to aluminium for the top-ends. We're not sure if this is the same motorcycle that was sold at auction on January 14th 2006, but we think it is. We don't have a price for that sale. And either this same bike, or a similar one, was sold by Bonhams on 5th May 2007 at San Francisco. It fetched $93,600 (£61,017).

We also know that on 3rd May 2008, Bonham sold another (blue) Indian Crocker (engine number: GB OHV 01) for $64,350 (£41,949). Additionally, Bonhams offered that same bike for sale on 8th January 2015 at Bally's, Las Vegas. The estimate was $70,000 - $90,000 (£46,000 - £59,000). We don't have a sale price for that either, assuming it did sell.

Frankly, we're a little confused by all this. But the underlying point is that these Crocks get around, and Bonhams is getting many bites of the same cherry (which is their business, of course). We'll be trying to straighten this out when we next talk to Bonhams. Watch this space.

UPDATE: The Indian Crocker didn't sell.

www.bonhams.com

— The Third Man